


𝔹𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟

by SSTrainwreck



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Magic, Mystery, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Spells & Enchantments, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27402640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SSTrainwreck/pseuds/SSTrainwreck
Summary: If someone had told Hongjoong a year ago that people would be standing before him claiming that he was a Halfa- born from a Witch and a Mortal- he probably would have called you crazy.Now, with his parents missing and no known guardians willing to take him, Hongjoong finds himself sent to a prestigious academy for the Magical Arts where the halls were flooded with strange occurrences and pretentious students who frowned on those with Mortal blood. By his next full passage around the sun he would have to make a choice: embrace his magical self and forever forsake his Mortal half or give up magic forever.But it is said in the old lore that a being of forbidden blood could become the most powerful of all and hold the keys to salvation.
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 16
Kudos: 71





	1. October 31st

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my new work that I am posting and I'm very excited about it! It has several inspirations so you may spot a few. My main focus will be Asphyxia but I hope to update this when I can! Please let me know what you think as this is the first chapter so it may be a bit clunky.

**_October_ **  
**_1592_ **

_It's happened again. The dream. This marks the fourth time in a fortnight that this vision has come to haunt me so._

_I say haunt not because of the dream itself, but for the images it bestows upon me that I cannot help but come back to throughout the day. The others in the house have taken it upon themselves to tease me for my distractions but oh, dear journal, if they only could see what I see would they know of my reasons and be just as distracted as I._

_The dream starts the same as always, at the base of a foggy mountain standing in a nearby stream with the full moon drawn high. I had never seen it glow brighter and the water is cool against my heated skin._

_A sound. Like a whisper through the night. I turn my head and there, the object of my affection stands just beyond the shadow of the waterfall upon a shallow rock. His hair is always kept loose and, though there is no breeze, it seems to sway in the light of the moon underneath the Gat on his head. His hanbok is made of the finest materials and seemed to flow like water to hypnotise the senses. Though I cannot see his face, he moves with such an elegance that there is not a doubt in my mind that his features are just as refined. Too beautiful to be gazed upon by a filthy commoner such as myself._

_But, oh, do I curse the days when I must wake and long for the night to come again so I can once again gaze at his form as he makes the water dance._

_From the Journal of K.H.J_

* * *

_Present Day_

"Why are you doing this!?"

Hongjoong cried out as he watched his aunt toss his things into a duffle bag. He felt the bitter sting of tears burn just behind his eyes but he refused to let them fall. Instead, he raced forward as the woman carelessly tossed some of his CDs into the bag and pulled them out before tossing them on the bed.

"I don't understand!" Hongjoong tried again as his aunt moved through his room, grabbing a handful of clothes randomly from the dresser before tossing them down. He grabbed onto her arms as if to stop her, "What is going on? Auntie!"

"Enough!" The woman yelled out, knocking the boy's hands away placing her own over her ears as if it would help block out the desperate cries and confused cries of the teenager before her. You could see the dark circles and overall haggardness of her stance. Her once lustrous hair hung limp at her shoulders and she seemed aged beyond her years. "I just-I can't do it anymore Hongjoong!"

The boy didn't know what she was talking about. Can't do what anymore? He hadn't been a model student, often skipping class to work on his music, but he never got in their way. He was still passing his classes with good marks. He did his own dishes and laundry and most days he stayed holed in his room away from her and his uncle. He ran his hand through his dyed blue hair, wincing as he remembered how they hadn't been happy about that, but couldn't think of much more of a reason. They couldn't be kicking him out because of a hair color could they?

His aunt didn't seem to care about any of this and disregarded Hongjoong's heartbroken and confused look as she pulled out one of his drawers from the dresser. She hauled it over the bed and dumped it into the bag, most of the close missing and falling onto the bed or floor. "A week they said! You were supposed to be here for a week. It's been three years!"

That was true. Hongjoong remembered the day he had been dropped off here as a young teenager. His parents were only supposed to leave him at his aunt's house for a week as they went off on a couple's retreat for their anniversary.

And they never came back.

Now, here his aunt stood, doing the same thing his parents did to him three years ago, tossing him aside. Was he really that unwanted? That not even his own family would care enough to keep him? As he watched his aunt continue to pack away his things, he felt the fight drain out of him. There was no reason to. She had already made up her mind.

"You're just like them." He whispered, mostly to himself.

Apparently, his aunt heard him however and she paused in her packing.

"Hongjoong..." Her voice broke. Finally, she walked around the room and cupped his face in her hands. Her eyes were filled with sadness but she was just so _tired._

_"I'm sorry."_

That was how Hongjoong found himself on a train staring out the window as the bright orange and yellow colors of the trees passed by. It was definitely fall now. It had always been his favorite season. Frolicking in the leaves as the air turned cool and crisp enough to burn at your lungs with every deep breath.

Absently, he remembered his birthday was soon.

A three hour train ride and a two hour car ride later, Hongjoong stood in what felt like the middle of nowhere on a mountain. His entire room, reduced to two duffle bags, sat at his feet as he stared up at a large iron gate, an insignia presented proudly in the center. Behind the bars was a large and almost ancient looking victorian building that was painted in muted colors and the grounds, from what he could tell, were rather big.

Hongjoong swallowed and picked up his bags, nervously stepping forward as the gate opened and allowed him entry. He caught a glance at a plaque on the gate. _'Crescent Academy for Exceptional Children.'_

"What in the fresh hell-"

"Mr. Kim," Hongjoong heard his teeth click as he hastily closed his mouth. Whipping around, the boy came face to face with three people of various sized. There was a short, portly looking man whose suit seemed two sizes too big with a rather red looking nose. He sniffled every now and then as if he were fighting off a cold.

On the opposite side was a stern looking woman with a bun pulled so tight it was a wonder she still had hair at all. She was of medium height and was dressed in a bland grey looking pencil skirt and jacket, not a wrinkle in sight with her ramrod straight posture.

The person that caught Hongjoong's attention the most, however, was the person standing in the middle. He seemed otherworldly and, if the boy wanted to be cliche, he would say that the man were some kind of angel. He was rather young looking and the tallest out of the three with long hair that nearly brushed his waist and the color of pure moonlight. He was the only one dressed in a rather modern looking Hanbok in blues and silvers that complimented his pale complexion.

"It is such a pleasure that you could join us," Hongjoong blinked as he realized the man in the middle was the one who had spoken earlier. Even his voice was pleasant sounding and deep. "I am Headmaster Moon. I wanted to be the first to welcome you to the school and that, though it is rather late in the term, we are happy to have you join us."

Hongjoong felt his cheeks flush lightly. He nodded in leu of responding as his mouth suddenly felt rather dry. _What was happening?_

Headmaster Moon didn't seem to mind the younger's refusal to speak and just smiled at him warmly. "I'm sure you must be tired after your long journey. I will have Mr. lee here escort you to your room for now." He gestured to the sniffing man. "Your schedule and a map of the school is already inside waiting for you. There is about an hour left until dinner."

Seeing as it would be rude to answer, Hongjoong fought through his still dry throat. "Oh-uh-thank you."

"The pleasure is ours, Mr. Kim." The man smiled once more. With a bow he turned to leave and Hongjoong felt a rather cold feeling wash over him. He shivered despite his multiple layers and lack of breeze. Odd.

"Come this way, Mr. Kim." The sniveling man gestured for Hongjoong to follow. Even his voice sounded as if his nose was pinched and stuffy.

Picking up his belongings, the boy walked behind Mr. Lee as he looked around to try and get a feeling of his surroundings.

Hongjoong had been right about his earlier observation, the place looked _massive._ The closer they got to the main building, the larger it looked and the more intimidated the boy grew. Just how was he supposed to navigate around here? He was sure he would get lost and never found again.

They passed walked underneath an awning cutting through the school and into a small courtyard with buildings on every side, boxing it in. Brightly colored trees lined sidewalks connecting the buildings and an ornate fountain sat in the middle with statues of mermaid's peaking out and back in amid the spray. Despite its beauty, it seemed that no one was around, meaning class was probably in session.

"The girl's dorms are on the left and the boy's on the right." Mr. Lee huffed as he pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket, lightly dabbing at h is damp forehead. "The building behind us is for administration. The farthest is the cafeteria and infirmary. The rest of the buildings for classes are smattered around campus but everything is within ten minutes walk."

Mr. Lee stuffed his hanky in his pant's pocket and continued walking towards the boy's dorms. "You will have a roommate," The man spoke as they entered the building and headed up the stairs to the second floor. They walked a little farther before stopping at a door near the end of the all. Mr. Lee pulled an old looking key out of his pocket and handed it to Hongjoong.

"The room on the left is yours. Please do your best to keep in mind that curfew is eleven and under no circumstances is anyone of the opposite gender is allowed on the upper floors, we've had enough of that this month." He shook his head as if remembering an unfortunate incident. "Any questions?" Hongjoong opened his mouth to try and say something but didn't manage to get anything out before Mr. Lee was rushing to speak again. "No? Good, I must get going now. Lots of work yet to be done!"

Hongjoong watched the man scuttle away with a sneeze and sighed, closing his mouth as he stared at the key still in his palm. He sighed. So much for questions. It only figured, no one has answered a damn thing since his aunt started to pack up his things.

"Oof, room 1024? Rough luck buddy." Hongjoong jumped at the sound of a voice from beside him. He whipped his head around saw someone about his own age on the other side of him. For a moment, he was confused as he glanced down the hall and noticed that it was a dead end. How did he get there without him noticing?

"What's wrong with this room?" Hongjoong couldn't help but ask as he gave the new arrival a once over. The boy seemed about his height if not a centimeter taller with black hair that was long enough to curl around his ears. He was dressed in a grey blazer with a intricate looking crest consisting of a crescent moon surrounded by beautiful pink chrysanthemums. He had a black tie that was pulled loose around his neck as if presumably coming back from class.

The boy didn't seem to mind the look and regarded Hongjoong with a raised eyebrow. "This guy goes through roommates every few weeks." He gestured to the still closed door.

"What does he do?" the other furrowed his brow as he looked skeptically at the room that was supposed to be his. He was already envisioning what kind of nightmare he was about to walk into.

The black haired boy shrugged. "D'know. Just that everyone who has ever lived in this room put in for a room transfer after a week or two."

"Great," Hongjoong rolled his eyes. Not even five minutes at his new school and he was already getting displaced.

"Just wait a little before you unpack," The boy shrugged a shoulder before sticking out his hand. "I'm Wooyoung by the way."

"Hongjoong," The boy set his bag down and gave the other's hand a quick shake.

"I like the hair," Wooyoung cast his gaze up. Hongjoong reached and patted his blue hair self consciously, suddenly realizing that he might be breaking a rule with the color.

The other boy seemed to sense this and waved him off. "Don't worry, there's no rule against it. Do you know what class you're in?"

Hongjoong pursed his lips together and shook his head. Yet another thing he doesn't know about. "I'm a senior but I haven't been told anything else."

Wooyoung made a bit of a strange face as it scrunched in confusion. "Have you even gotten a tour of the place?" Again, Hongjoong shook his head. The other boy sighed. "C'mon, set your stuff down and I can show you around."

The blunette felt a weight off of his shoulders. Finally, someone in this damn place could give him some answers. He had been tossed aside and now he felt like he was free floating without any ground below. He knew he had a lot of tied up emotions that he was going to have to unpack later, but for now, he was just going to focus on the here and now.

Hongjoong set a duffle bag down and fumbled with his key for a moment before he managed to fit it into the lock that was just as ancient as the key itself. He turned it with a click and pushed open the door, peeking inside just in case someone was there. On the other side he was greeted, thankfully, by an empty room.

The room itself was pretty standard with two beds and small wooden desks beside them that worked as a night stand as well. At the ends of the bed was a wooden closet atop a set of drawers for storage space. Overall, it wasn't much but it would be home for now.

What struck Hongjoong the most though, was it almost appeared as if no one else lived there. The blunette wouldn't even have known he had a roommate if it wasn't for the made bed on the right side of the room away from the window as the other bed had blankets folded and laid at the end. This made the boy even more curious as to who his potential roommate could possibly be.

"Wow," Came a low whistle from the door way. Hongjoong turned around to see Wooyoung standing there. "I always wondered what the inside of this room would look like. Guess I had my hopes up for nothing."

Hongjoong set his bags on the unmade bed, not bothering to unpack at all, and made his way towards the door. Once back in the hall he locked the door back and pocketed the item.

"What's first?"

* * *

"And over here is the library," Wooyooung pointed out as they stood on the lawn outside a large beautiful brick building that had definitely seen some things. "Just don't go to the fourth floor if you ever want to get anything done."

"This campus is huge," Hongjoong huffed. He hadn't expected to be walking around so much. Wasn't this just a high school? Why was it the size of a college campus.

"Well we have all grades here." The black haired boy shrugged as his way of explaining. "We have some elementary students all the way up to university. Some even come back to be professors."

This intrigued Hongjoong. He had never really heard of a set up like this. "Elementary school is pretty young. Why would people stay that long?"

"It's a safe space," Wooyoung shrugged. "There are a lot of rich assholes here but, for a lot of us, this is the only place we have to belong."

That was interesting. A place where you could belong? Hongjoong made to open his mouth and ask more about that when something flew in between the two. The blunette just managed to move out of the way before he was nailed in the face by something. Turning his head he noticed a frisbee a little ways away.

"Sorry!" A voice called from the other end of the yard. The person jogged closer to where the two were standing and panted a little as he slowed to a stop. "Didn't mean to almost hit you! Frisbee got away from us a bit."

"Better be careful, Yunho," Wooyoung greeted the new arrival as he held out the frisbee in his hand. When had he gone and gotten that? "You almost hit the new guy."

This is when Yunho seemed to notice that Hongjoong was still standing there and turned his head to give him a quick once over while the blunette took the opportunity to do the same. Yunho was dressed similarly to Wooyoung and had the same crescent moon on his jacket but instead of chrysanthemum's, his had pure white plum blossoms. His hair was a bright blonde but if turned in the sun just right, Hongjoong could notice the very faint hues of pink along with tiny flowers strung here and there in his hair.

"Hi!" Yunho said brightly as he held out his hand to Hongjoong. "I'm Yunho, sorry again about almost hitting you."

"Hongjoong," The blunette said with a half smile that he hoped was friendly enough. It was really pointless to try and get close to people since he wasn't going to be here for too long, seeing as it was his last few months in school.

"Are you coming to the party tonight?" Hongjoong blinked as he realized that Yunho was still talking to him seeing as he had gotten lost in his head for a moment.

"Party?" The blunette tilted his head curiously. This was a boarding school. Was it a school sanctioned party?

"Yeah!" The pinkette said enthusiastically. "It's Halloween, the biggest night of the year!"

"It's not one of those lame school dances in the gym with cheap streamers is it? 'Cuz if so, I'll pass." Hongjoong was never exactly the 'party' type and he sure as hell didn't want to get caught up in the false school spirit that high school was known to shove down people's throats.

"Nah man," Wooyoung seemed to hope aboard the train along with Yunho. "It's _Halloween_ , you know, Samhain?"

"Should be a full moon too," Yunho threw in as if it tipped the scales at all.

"And where is this ' _epic_ ' party supposed to be?" Hongjoong ask with air quotes. "Do I have to wear a costume?"

Yunho and Wooyoung looked at the blunette as if he had grown two heads. Finally, the black haired student just shook his head. Before anyone could speak, someone yelled from across the yard.

"Yunho!" Three head's turned to spot a tall guy in a long coat with gloves. It was a bit odd considering it was still rather mild out but to each his own. "You coming or what?"

"Gotta go," The pinkette shrugged and reached out to grab his frisbee from Wooyoung. "I'll see you later."

Hongjoong still seemed skeptical but a hand on his shoulder stopped him before he could turn down the invitation. He looked over at Wooyoung.

"He'll be there."

"Cool," Yunho waved goodbye before jogging back towards the other guy on the field. Together the two walked away.

"Do I really have to subject myself to some lame party?" Hongjoong lamented. He really didn't feel in the mood to socialize further and it had already been a long day. "Can't I just skip it this once?"

"Are you kidding me?" Wooyoung exclaimed as if it were the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "No one can miss out on this! I'll swing by your room around ten to pick you up."

"Oh really?" Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. "And just what could I wear to a last minute Halloween party?"

Wooyoung just smirked, giving the newbie a once over. It almost seemed as if he knew something that Hongjoong didn't. Honestly, the other was starting to suspect he did.

"Black."

* * *

Hongjoong fidgeted as he stood just outside the library waiting for Wooyoung. When he had come back, his roommate still hadn't appeared and allowed the other to unpack and change uninterrupted but it did nothing to take any of the edge off of what he was feeling. He couldn't quite place his finger on it but he felt restless, as if his body were charged with electricity and he just couldn't shake off the extra energy. He just marked it off as being thrown in a totally new environment with little to no time to adjust. So much had changed in just a matter of hours and he still hadn't been able to stop long enough to process it all. Hopefully after tonight he would have some time to breathe.

"You ready?" Hongjoong jumped at the sound of Wooyoung's voice from beside him. He must have been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed the other coming up.

"As I'll ever be," The blunette sighed. He adjusted the sleeves of his black turtleneck so they covered his hands to hide his nerves. His shirt was tucked into black slacks with a thin black belt. Over the top of it he had on a black pleather vest that he left open.

"Well," Wooyoung let out a low whistle as he took in the other's outfit. "You clean up nice."

"Were even are we going?" Hongjoong ignored the comment, preffering answers over compliments. He wanted to make sure this wasn't one of those 'prank the new kid' games.

"It's in the forest behind the school," The other boy didn't seem to notice any of the edge in Hongjoong's voice and continued pleasantly. "What better place to have a Halloween party, am I right?"

Hongjoong raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as he just followed Wooyoung towards the direction of the woods. The trees were dense as they walked in and leaves crunched underneath their feet as they entered further. The leaves were a lovely shade of orange but the brunette could do little to appreciate them with how dark it was. If it wasn't for Wooyoung, he would for sure have been lost. Above them the moon was bright and high.

"Is this the part where you kill the new guy?"Hongjoong joked after walking for a while in the dark. Just as he said it, however, the two could see a light in the distance. As they got closer, the trees opened and they found themselves in a clearing with a roaring fire going in the middle giving warmth to crisp night.

"Welcome to Creacent Academy," Wooyoung swept out a hand. Around the fire stood about thirty to fourth students all standing with red solo cups in hand socializing. There were some rather eccentric figures with brightly colored hair or intricate piercings. Some even had a few tattoos showing.

"Why do I suddenly get the feeling I dong belong here?" Hongjoong said wearily. A hand grabbed at him before he could brood further, tugging him towards someone near a tree. The brunette recognized Yunho as they got closer as he was leaning against a tree with the same blonde guy in a long trench coat and gloves from before leaning over him with his arm propped on the tree. 

"Yunho, Mingi!" Wooyoung called out as soon as they were close enough. 

The two looked up and Yunho smiled, recognizing Hongjoong lurking behind the other boy. "Hey, you both made it."

The other guy, Mingi, leaned up from where he was on the tree giving Hongjoong a once over. He was tall, about as tall as Yunho, and seemed friendly. He still wore his gloves and upon closer inspection, they were made of velvet and went up past his wrists. The black trench coat over his body hid the rest of his proportions from view. Hongjoong wondered if he was dressed in a costume.

"Hey, I'm Mingi." The guy held out a hand towards Hongjoong and smiled. "Haven't seen you around before. You new?"

The blunette grabbed the hand offered to him and shook it while nodding. "Yeah, been kind of a roller coaster honestly."

"Don't worry," Mingi shrugged as he dropped the other's hand. "This place is great. Everyone here is like my family."

Yunho looked over at the blonde while he said that and gave a soft smile that spoke of a lot of history. It was very warm, heartfelt, and full of emotion. Hongjoong wondered just how far back they go.

"Yeosang and Jongho here yet?" Wooyoung cut in as he glanced around at the other party goers. 

"Not yet," Yunho shook his head. "They should be coming soon though, everything is about to start."

"What's about to start?" Hongjoong turned his head to look at Wooyoung. He wasn't told anything else would be happening and everyone already seemed to get a start on drinking.

Mingi seemed confused for a moment but Wooyoung answered before anyone else could speak. "The cleansing ritual. Samhain is the best time to get rid of weaknesses and what is no longer wanted. Haven't your parents ever done anything like this back home?"

"Cleansing ritual?" What kind of party has that? These things were just to hang around and get drunk, not have a introspective spiritual time. If there was ever a time Hongjoong needed a drink, it would be today. 

Wooyoung, Yunho, And Mingi all shared a look as if they couldn't really believe what they were hearing. They had no idea what to say to the other. Just as they were about to rapidly question Hongjoong, the fire in the center flared up, almost like a pillar that was completely unnatural. The blunette, not expecting it, jumped at the noise.

Standing behind the now tamed flame was a man with black hair that was slightly slicked back. His gaze was intense and the flames dancing in his eyes only amplified it. Like everyone else, he was dressed in black but his clothes looked nicely tailored to his figure and his button up shirt had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. 

"Always for the dramatics," Wooyoung spoke from beside Hongjoong and he could practically hear the eye roll. 

"Who is he?" Hongjoong frowned. I'm surprised the guy hadn't burnt off his eyebrows with how close he was standing to the flames.

"That's San," Yunho answered this time. "They say he has the makings to be the next Supreme."

"Supreme?" Hongjoong had never heard of anything like that. "Is that what you call the class president or something?"

"What neck of the woods did they pluck you from?" Mingi came up from behind while walking towards the fire. Hongjoong felt like the comment should have bugged him but he was to focused on figuring out what kind of school he had walked into. Wooyoung just grabbed his arm and pulled him forward to join the rest of the crowd.

"Tonight we will renew the cleansing over the school to protect us from outside dangers." San spoke as he reached down to grab candles. He handed them to the two on either side of him to pass around the rest of the circle. When the candle sticks came to Hongjoong, he looked at it closely and noticed there were small symbols carved into the wax. They didn't look like Hangul or English either. 

"Hey," Yunho tapped Hongjoong's arm from beside him. He indicated the candle in his hand and pointed to the fire. The blunette quickly understood what to do and stick the wick into the flame and lit it. 

When Hongjoong too a step back, he looked around the circle and tried to get a look at the other's faces. There were some intricate and eccentric looking individuals among them but there were others that seemed utterly boring and normal. This place really did attract a lot of different people. 

"Now to begin," San pulled out a knife from wherever he had pulled the candles from and Hongjoong's eyes widened as he took the blade and ran it over his palm with out a wince. What the hell-

San closed his hand and held it over the flame before tipping it over. Blood ran from between his fingers and dripped into the fire. As soon as the first drop hit, the flames flickered and turned a vibrant blue. The heat from it warmed his skin but didn't feel overbearing.

_"In die tribulationis, et ego dico tibi, Protege me hic, Protege me, nunc."_

The circle began to chanting, the Latin foreign to Hongjoong's ears. It was hypnotizing and spell binding. The blunette could feel a fog creep into his head and his eyes fluttered. A pain began to bloom behind his eyes and he winced

_"In die tribulationis dico enim vobis, Protege me hic, Protege me, nunc."_

The chanting continued and the pain grew to a nearly unbearable level. His vision started to blur and there were a few black spots coming in an out. He felt weak and it took everything in his power to stay standing.

Before everything turned black, he could have sworn he saw someone walk into the flames.


	2. Stained Glass

**_November  
1592_ **

_I must be seeing things._

_While_ _I was washing the Lord and Lady's clothing in the stream this night, I saw him. The figure from my dreams. I shouldn't have been out this late but I was behind on my chores. The Lady was entertaining tomorrow and she absolutely needed the laundry done, otherwise it would not dry in time. The moon was waning but was still as bright as when it was full making it possible._

_He had come to the modest stream, standing in the water as he watched it fall over the cliff and down to the smooth rocks below. Compared to my own rags, he seemed as if her were a prince from a foreign land. I do not know where he had come from. Maybe he was camping nearby, washing after a day of traveling towards the capital? But it did not matter. I would savor looking at him as much as I could as I knew the time would surely be short._

_Today seemed different though. Instead of strong and regal like I remembered seeing in my dreams, he seemed a bit tired and sad. Was he falling ill? It must not be good to stand so long in the tepid waters as winter approached. Soon, even I wouldn't even be able to wash in the stream as it would begin freezing over._

_Mesmerized as always, I couldn't believe that I was really seeing the man in the flesh. I could have swore that he were just a figment made up by my imagination but that couldn't be true. I had never seen another person like him so I had no idea where I would pull the inspiration to recreate such a figure in my slumber._

_As I was staring, I hadn't even realized I had taken a step towards the man, if only to see if he was alright, when my foot slipped on a rock and became caught between two stones. I cried out as I felt my body tumble forward but before I could fall into the cool water, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around me._

_He was even more gorgeous up close. His hair was a silver as the moon above and pulled into a noble top knot. His lips were a perfect bow shape that were curved into a soft smile while his eyes looked as if they had been carved out of the finest ambers while they stared down at me in concern._

_"Are you ok?" He had asked me. His voice was like velvet to my ears and I could feel my cheeks heat in embarrassment. He had seemed worlds away just moments ago so I was rather surprised he had reacted so quickly. I didn't think it was possible._

_I could only answer back a pathetic response and assure him I was fine but he didn't seem to mind my embarrassed dismissal. Instead, as gently as I could ever imagine possible, he steadied me and bent down to help me get my foot out from the rocks. It hurt but I tried not to show any weakness on my face. Apparently, I had failed._

_"Your ankle seems a bit swollen," He said softly as he cradled my foot delicately in his hand. I felt awful that he could see the dirt that covered them that hadn't quite washed away in the stream. His beautiful and regal Jeogori sleeves were also getting wet and I couldn't even imagine how much they had cost to make. Surely more than a year's worth of my sad wages. I would never have been able to pay back the damage caused but the man seemed to pay them no mind._

_I had tried to wave him off and set my foot back onto the bank so he wouldn't dirty any more of his clothing but the pain shooting up my leg must have shown on my face and I lost my balance once more, collapsing forward and into his chest as he stood._

_He smiled down and I noticed how much taller he was than I. He steadied me a second time before bending back down close to my injury. He guided my hands onto his shoulder to keep me stead as he cupped some of the stream and soothed it over my ankle. The water was so clear I could have sworn it was sparkling like diamonds under the moonlight._

_"They say this stream has healing properties," He explained to me softly as he continued to pour the water, his finger tips just barely touching my skin. They were smooth and completely uncalloused like my own. "It is why I find myself coming here every few months. Legend says it was blessed by a moon spirit after its lover drowned."_

_"That's awful," I remember snapping back before I could catch my tongue. I felt like I should be drowning myself in that stream for talking back to a potential noble man. The man didn't seem to take offense to my loose lips and instead he just smiled._

_"He blessed it because he never wanted these waters to hurt another person." He said whispered as if he were saying a secret. "Sometimes, on the full moon, I think I can see her reflection in the water."_

_The mysterious man had put my ankle down after that and I was amazed to find that there was no pain anymore, just a slight tingling from where he had touched me._

_"It doesn't hurt," I exhaled in amazement._

_The man stood and looked at me one last time, his bow lips in a small smile. "I was happy I could help, Hongjoong."_

_It wasn't until moments after he vanished that I realized I had never told him my name._

* * *

"What happened?"

"I don't know, he just tumbled over." Hongjoong furrowed his brow as he listened to the voices mutter around him. Some seemed vaguely familiar while others were new.

"Mingi, were you able to pick up anything from him?" It was Wooyoung.

"Nothing. I couldn't get a read on anything."

"I think he might be waking up." Yunho spoke sounding rather close to the blunette's head.

Hongjoong shifted and groaned, unable to take the voices anymore as his head was pounding. Vaguely he realized that he was laid down on something soft and something was applying a soft pressure to his temples. His eyes fluttered open, blinking the room into focus.

"Well," Wooyoung huffed as soon as he noticed the other's eyes. "Looks like sleeping beauty finally decided to grace the world of the living."

Hongjoong blearily looked around the room and noticed that there were five other people surrounding him. Yunho sat at his head with his fingers on his temple while Mingi and Wooyoung were watching from the other end. By the door stood two people he did not recognize. One was a little stocky with the tips of his hair dyed red while the other had long blonde hair with the sides razored. The stocky one seemed concerned while the blonde was scowling.

"What happened?" The blunette rasped as he made to sit up, his throat dry. Yunho moved from the bed to give him space and removed his hand.

"You passed out," Mingi answered from where he stood. "Never seen someone get magically overwhelmed by a simple cleansing ritual."

"The-the fire," Hongjoong muttered. "I saw someone walk into the fire. Are they okay?"

Everyone in the room seemed to raise an eyebrow at this statement, as if he had said something completely ridiculous. 

"Uh, _yeah_." The blonde guy said near the door, arms crossed. "That's what happens when you are conducting a cleansing by _fire_." His severe eyes turned to Wooyoung. "Where did you say you found this guy again?"

"Hongjoong," Yunho started, ignoring the other's scathing question. His eyes were soft. "Do you know what happened tonight?"

"I thought I was just at a Halloween party," Hongjoong brought a hand up to his forehead. He could feel the headache he had throb painfully. "Cleansing by fire? What the hell? Why would anyone want to walk into a bond fire? Is this some kind of alternate reality or something? Am I on _Punk'd_?"

The rest of the room continued to cast worrying glances at one another. "Hongjoong, this is very important." Yunho continued. "Do you know where you are?"

"I'm at school, where else would I be?" The student could feel himself growing frustrated. What did all these questions hope to achieve? He didn't understand and after the disaster of a day he has had he just wants to go to his room and _sleep._

"Do you know _what_ kind of school this is?" Wooyoung cut in. He was looking at Hongjoong with a rather strange look.

"I don't know!" Hongjoong threw his hands up, at his breaking point. "A weird one apparently if you all are doing rituals in the woods like some kind of cult. I feel like I'm on the set of _Riverdale._ "

"This isn't a normal school," The guy with the red tipped hair said, speaking for the first time. 

"Yeah, I can tell." Scoffed the blunette as he turned to sit on the edge of the bed. "With a pretentious name like _Crescent Academy for Exceptional Children,_ I kind of figured."

"Not like that," Yunho shook his head. "This is a school for _magic._ "

Hongjoong just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I'm a tap dancing Unicorn." He huffed. He was growing tired of this. "This is ridiculous, I'm going to bed." The student got up out of bed and walked towards the door but was stopped as Wooyoung suddenly appeared before him as if he had materialized out of thin air.

"What the hell," Hongjoong stuttered as he took a few stumbling steps back, startled. He turned his head to where Wooyoung had been by Mingi on the other side of the room before pointing too where the other stood now. "How did you-what."

" _Magic_ , Hongjoong." Wooyoung drove home. "It is what we are all here to learn."

"That's not possible," The bluenette said in disbelief, shaking his head. "It was just a trick of the light. Or I'm still dreaming." Hongjoong pressed his hands to his temple and massaged them, the headache growing stronger. 

"Don't you know this all already?" The blonde said with a quirked eyebrow. "Didn't the headmaster come and evaluate you before you were enrolled."

"No!" Hongjoong threw his hands up. "I was sent here after my aunt tossed me out of the house!" He shook his head, mumbling to himself. "This can't be happening, this is all just an elaborate Halloween prank, I-"

"What about your mark?" The red-tipped boy asked. "Everyone has a mark."

Hongjoong frowned. "Mark? What mark? I don't have a-hey!" The blunette cried as he quickly pulled down his shirt from where it was suddenly floating away from his body, as if a gust of air had come from below. He flushed, suddenly feeling like that one glamor shot of Marilyn Monroe and the sewer grate as he looked over to the blonde who had his fingers pointed at him. Did this guy really move his shirt without touching him?

The boy shrugged. "I figured it would be faster to check for ourselves."

"I am _leaving_ ," Hongjoong huffed, shaking off the strange thoughts of the night. "I don't care whatever the hell you do on your own time but I am not going to be played with-" As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt his body become weightless and the world turned upside down as if an invisible force was holding him airborne by the ankle. He yelled out in surprise. 

"We can't let you leave," Mingi shook his head as he stood next to the blonde who now had his arms raised higher as he presumably held Hongjoong in the air. "Jongho, check him."

At the taller's command, the man with the red-tipped hair moved forward and circled Hongjoong as he was suspended helpless in the air. His shirt had come up to reveal his back and chest and Jongho seemed to be inspecting him. The new student wasn't sure what 'mark' they were looking for but he wanted to get the hell out of there.

"Put. Me. _Down_!" The blunette hollered as he felt the blood rush to his head. He felt mildly humiliated at the position and slightly fearful. This was real. There were no wires connected to him and pulling him up, it was all the boy in front of him who was starting to sweat a little from the exertion.

"I don't see anything," Jongho said as he moved to stand next to the blond.

"That's not possible." Frowned Wooyoung. "He has to have one if he is here."

Yunho gasped, a sudden realization dawning on him. "Don't tell me they let a Mortal in here?"

Hongjoong suddenly felt whatever force holding him up in the air snap like a thin piece of string and he crashed to the ground with a yelp. The blonde apparently couldn't handle it anymore and released his hold as he collapsed into Jongho's arms, pale and panting, with a forehead broken out in a cold sweat.

"Are you alright Yeosang?" The one with the red hair said softly, his arm wrapped protectively around the other.

"Next time, you try to hold someone suspended for however long and see how _you_ feel." The one called Yeosang grumbled from where he lay, presumably too exhausted to move. 

Hongjoong stared at the group from his position on the floor. He had to get out of here. This wasn't happening. His aunt had sent him away to some psychiatric ward where everyone thought they had magical powers and now he was stuck here with crazy people.

Except, what he saw was real. What he had felt in the air was real. He had no rational explanation for it, just that it had happened.

Taking of the distraction, he scrambled up and ran.

* * *

"You're just going to let him go like that?" Mingi looked over to Wooyoung who was staring at the open doorway. With the dark-haired man's powers, he could easily catch up to the fleeing newbie but had chosen to stay put.

"I don't get it," Wooyoung ignored the question and instead answered with a frown. "Why would Headmaster Moon let in a potential Mortal?" 

"I'm not thoroughly convinced he is a Mortal." Yunho said as he reached out to Yeosang whose eyebrows were furrowed in pain from an oncoming headache that often came with overusing their Gift. The pinkette placed a hand over the boy's forehead and it glowed green for a split second and Yeosang's eyes slid shut in relief and slipping into a peaceful sleep. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to even set foot on the grounds."

"Something must be going on." Mingi huffed. "All I got was static when I tried to read him." He pulled one of his gloves on tighter.

"I have a feeling we should probably keep an eye on him," Jongho suggested as he heaved a now asleep Yeosang into his arms to take back to the dorm. "People will go crazy if they catch wind of a potential Mortal at the school..."

Wooyoung just pursed his lips as he continued to stare at the open doorway.

* * *

Hongjoong sighed as he browsed the shelves of the library. When he got back to his room he was glad, if not a little concerned, to find that his roommate still hadn't returned for the night. He honestly wasn't sure if he could deal with anyone else at the moment. When he had laid down, sleep had mostly evaded him and he found himself tossing and turning until early hours of the night until he had finally drifted off. When he woke up, he had been hoping that everything that had transpired had just been a dream but the soreness in his body from falling told him otherwise.

Deciding that he couldn't sit around any more, Hongjoong had decided to try and find out more of whatever alternate reality he had found himself in. He had hopped out of bed and dug into his duffle-bag, throwing the first thing he found on since he hadn't unpacked yet. With a quick glance at the still undisturbed bed in the room, he stepped out the door.

The blunette was thankful it was still the weekend as he meandered his way around campus. He tried his best to remember where exactly Wooyoung had said the library was. Hongjoong was still amazed with how large the campus itself was. Despite the tour, he was sure to still get lost.

Finally, he had reached the large dated brick building that was nearly buried in the ivy vines that scaled nearly every inch of its walls. Stepping inside, Hongjoong was even more impressed with its size. He knew the building was big but the inside seemed even larger. There was a grand foyer with aged hardwood flooring and wide staircases on either side of the room leading up to the second floor that seemed to scrawl on and on with bookshelves. In between the two staircases was a large mahogany desk that was currently manned by an old woman with round, owl like glasses that had lenses thicker than the frames themselves. When he walked in she smiled at him, her grey hair sticking out in spindly strands behind her.

Hongjoong nodded politely before he made his way up one of the staircases. He thought for a moment of asking the librarian for help but thought better of it. He had no idea what he would have said or even what exactly he was looking for. Deciding to work back to front, Hongjoong walked past the rows and rows of book shelves that went so high there were moving ladders attached for students to be able to reach. After what felt like ages, the student finally reached the back end of the library before the sight of something brought him to a stiff halt.

On the back wall was a large, rounded window that seemed to take up all of the available space and let in plenty of natural light. The top of the window was made of beautiful stained glass that depicted a bright crescent moon in the middle with a smaller sun and star to its left and right side. It was about midday and the sun was nearing its peak due to the shorter fall days and made the multi-colored glass shine that much more, the same design window shining onto the floor below.

The beauty of the window wasn't what made Hongjoong stop, however. In the seemingly empty library, a young man was sat on the soft bench that sat against the wall. He had his knees pulled up to his chest with a book cracked open in his lap, his finger scanning the page and plump lips mouthing the words he passed. He was dressed mostly in black and it set off the silver and grey of his dyed hair that was lightly curled and fell softly on either side of his forehead. 

Realizing he was staring, Hongjoong turned on his heel but, not watching where he was going, ended up running into a book cart that had been left in the aisle. The crash made a loud noise, startling the man on the bench and his head snapped up. Hongjoong felt his cheeks heat at being caught in such an embarrassing position and he half hoped that the world would open up and swallow him. 

"S-Sorry," Hongjoong mumbled as if that would make things any better. He knew he should be moving but he felt frozen to the spot now that he was receiving the full brunt of the other's cat like stare. The silver haired boy's gaze was sharp and intense and his eyes gleamed darkly. For a moment, Hongjoong could have sworn they flashed a shade of bright, pure amber before settling back down but figured it must be a trick of the sunlight. 

Finally realizing how awkward this was, the blunette swallowed thickly before he managed to dislodge his feet from the ground and scurry away. He nearly ran past at least five shelves before he slowed to a stop. He placed a hand on his chest and curled his fingers in the thin material of his t-shirt where his racing heart was slamming against his rib cage, dying to get out. He took a deep cleansing breath, hoping to slow it. 

_What the hell was that?_ It was like the man's gaze tore right through him like an arrow, his feet not wanting to move from their position. He felt surprisingly vulnerable for the brief moment he stood there and it was a bit unnerving. Hongjoong wasn't exactly sure how to make out the look in the other's eyes but it might be wise to avoid passing the library man for the time being.

After a moment, the blunette's heart finally calmed down and he managed to shake off the still tingling feeling in his finger tips. Instead, he finally was able to look around where he had ended up after fleeing.

It was a rounded part of the library and seemed a lot older than the rest. The books that lined the shelves were definitely aged and well worn from use. As Hongjoong stepped closer, he could se that many of the spines were broken and the bindings were slightly damaged or frayed. There were a few that he couldn't even make out what language they were written in. When he cracked open one, all his eyes could see were strange shapes and symbols that he couldn't really make out.

It was while he was perusing one shelf that his fingers brushed against a particularly old book that seemed to call out to him. It had thick and aged leather binding that was soft to the touch. Hongjoong, curious, pulled it out of its slot on the shelve and noticed that there was a thick and tarnished metal lock holding the front closed. It was different from any other lock he had seen as there were eight small buttons scattered in no particular pattern that the blunette could make out. Burned onto the cover was a looping Celtic looking symbol knot that appeared to have no beginning or end.

"Found you."

Hongjoong yelped as he was ripped from his musings by a voice right next to him. His arms spasmed and the book in his hands went flying before landing on the ground somewhere near them. That was sure not to be good for the old tome.

The blunette whipped around to face the person who had invaded his space. "Where the hell did you come from?" He hissed as he looked at Wooyoung, his hand clenched to his chest to stave off the incoming heart attack.

"I've been looking all over for you. You weren't in your room." The dark haired male shrugged before looking around the space. He let out a low whistle as he took everything in. "Wow, didn't expect to find you here though."

"Why? Never been in the library before?" Hongjoong couldn't resist the scathing remark as he took a step and bent down to retrieve the lost item. He quickly turned it this way and that to asses for any damage but was thankful to find none. 

" _No_ ," Wooyoung huffed. "I"m surprised because _normally_ , it is really difficult for people to find this section of the library." He gave Hongjoong a side eye. "Not unless you have magic coursing through your veins."

Hongjoong had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Me? Magical? _Please_." He said tersely. "I'm not going to take part in whatever this terrible _Harry Potter_ nightmare or _Charmed_ spin-off this is. Trust me, if I had anywhere else to go, I would have gotten the hell out of here."

"There has to be a reason you're here." Wooyoung argued. "They wouldn't let you in for nothing."

"You said you were looking for a mark?" Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. "Well, apparently I don't have one so I can't be one of whatever you guys are. Sorry I couldn't be apart of your little lollipop guild."

Wooyoung just sighed in mild frustration. Instead of saying anything more, he reached for the sleeve of his shirt and pulled it up his shoulder. "Here." He pointed to his upper arm. "Do you see anything?"

Hongjoong opened his mouth to tell the other he was being ridiculous when something shimmering on the other boy's arm below the shoulder caught his attention. Squinting, he leaned a little closer and tilted his head as something else came more into focus.

It was some kind of black tattoo and looked like a swirling whirlpool. Hongjoong blinked and for a brief moment, it looked like it was spinning before his eyes before the motion stopped. There was no way that it was a normal tattoo.

"You can see it, can't you?" Wooyoung said as he shifted and pulled his sleeve back down. "Only those with magic in their veins can."

"What is it?" Hongjoong asked, ignoring the comment in light of answers.

"A Mark," The other said. "It's different for everyone in correlation with your Gift."

"Gift?" He tilted his head. The only 'gifts' that he knew of were wrapped up and put underneath a tree by a fat man in red.

"It is what we call a Witch's powers. It isn't that uncommon for someone to have more than one Gift, but it is never as powerful as the one that manifests first." Wooyoung explained. "Gifts can be big, like teleporting, or small, like a strong affinity for potion making. There are differences between a Gift and a skill set. Gifts are special."

"And I'm guessing that your gift is teleporting?" Hongjoong surmised as he recalled all the times that Wooyoung had appeared out of nowhere after meeting him.

The other boy nodded. "It manifested about two years ago. You can imagine how surprised I was when I sneezed and found myself in the middle of a history class and not in my bed."

Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. "That really happened?"

Wooyoung nodded wryly. "Spooked the whole class."

"Well nothing like that has ever happened to me." The other shrugged as he started to walk away from the other. He was growing tired of having to repeat himself and he had a lot of things to prepare for before classes on Monday. He just needed to make it in this weird school for a few more months before he could get out of here and actually choose where he goes for once.

"Wait!" Wooyoung called out before the blunette could walk any further. Humoring him, Hongjoong turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Even if you insist that you aren't magical, which I highly doubt, you can't let anyone on campus catch wind of you being a Mortal."

"Oh really?" Hongjoong rolled his eyes incredulously. "Is this the part where you tell me about Voldemort showing up to vanquish all Muggles?"

"Would you stop with the cheesy references already?" Wooyoung huffed. "I'm serious. People here don't take too kindly to Mortals. They think they're dangerous. Besides, magic is sacred. It doesn't just show up in people randomly, it is passed down through generations. We're a dying breed."

"Well it isn't like I can suddenly teleport all around the room like you can." Hongjoong sniffed. It was amazing how quickly he was getting over the idea of a person just suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Maybe it was because Wooyoung was the complete opposite of what he pictured when he thought of the word 'witch'. No green skin or pointy hat in sight.

The other pursed his lips together for a moment. "We're going to have to fake it."

"How in the world do you expect me to do that?" Hongjoong furrowed his brows. "Am I going to have to start learning card tricks or something?"

"Ugh we have got to get you educated on actual magic." Wooyoung said, a bit exasperated. "I'll tell you what. After dinner, meet us in Room 1117 in the dorms. We have a lot of work to do before Monday rolls around."

"Us?" The blunette raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone from last night." Wooyoung said. "It's going to take a lot more people to pull something like this off."

Hongjoong seemed wary as he shuffled a bit on his feet. He really didn't know these people. Hell, he barely knew Wooyoung. There was no telling what these guys could actually do to him. One had already held him upside down what was next? But there was a small voice in the back of his head that seemed like this was a good idea. Trust issues or not, he knew nothing about whatever school he found himself in and would need the information if he was every going to survive these next few months without losing it.

"Fine," The blunette finally conceded. "What time should I meet you?"

By the time the two had set the time and place, the sun was already descending in the sky for its nightly rest. Just another consequence of Autumn as the days grew short and the nights grew long. When Hongjoong walked back out the way he came, the book he picked up still in his grasp, he absently noted that the man by the windows was gone.

* * *

"I can't believe you invited him here," Yeosang griped from the leather couch, his chin in his hand with his elbow on the armrest. "Do we even know anything about this guy?"

Room 1117 was a cozy little spot in their dorm that was often underused by the rest of the student population. Thus, it had become a great place for the group of them to meet and hang out, especially since the Winter months were coming and it was getting to be a little too cold to spend a lot of time outside in the courtyard. The room was dressed in warm tones with plush brown leather chairs and couches placed in front of a fire place that was currently ablaze with flickering flames. A large window was across from the mahogany double doors that flooded the room with natural light during the day and when the heavy draped emerald curtains weren't drawn. By the window was a small table and antique chair that was a nice spot to work on homework or read. Cozy was the best way to describe the place and, to the group of boys, it was like a second home.

"I met him shortly after Wooyoung did," Yunho shrugged from his place by the window near the small table. Mingi sat in the decorative chair right beside him as he fiddled with his velvet glove. Today, he chose to wear deep red ones that matched the red of his button down shirt. "He seemed like an alright guy to me."

"But do we really know anything about him?" Yeosang continued to antagonize, not at all happy with a potential newcomer disrupting their group. "What if he is some sort of spy or was sent here by someone to destroy the school."

"Well now you're just being dramatic." Jongho rolled his eyes fondly as he crossed the room. As he passed behind Yeosang, he lightly tapped the blonde on the cheek, much to the other's annoyance. 

"I highly doubt anyone would want to 'destroy the school'," Mingi chuckled with air quotes. "Besides, even that were the case, I don't even see how that is possible with Headmaster Moon in charge anyway."

Yeosang seemed to want to retaliate to that but stopped at the sound of the mahogany door opening. Everyone turned their head to spy Hongjoong standing timidly on the other end. The blunette scanned the room with tense shoulders that seemed to grow tighter as he noticed Wooyoung's absence.

"Uh, sorry." The new comer said awkwardly. "I didn't mean to be early."

"It's ok," Yunho smiled warmly. He stood up from where he was leaning against the wall and took three long strides towards the nervous man. "Come have a seat. Wooyoung will be here soon."

Nodding, Hongjoong stepped into the room and sat down on one of the empty lounge chairs nearest Yeosang. The blunette fidgeted as the blonde stared intently at him. The rest of the room fell into a brief silence.

"So what brings you to _Crescent_?" Mingi asked as means of polite conversation and to hopefully break up the slightly awkward atmosphere.

"Well I'm definitely not here by choice, if that is what you mean." Hongjoong fired back. "I think I mentioned this before, but my Aunt sent me here against my will. She basically threw me out of the house."

"Really?" Jongho said with a raised eyebrow. "She just...threw you out?"

Hongjoong nodded. "I can't tell you why. You're guess is as good as mine." His eyes scanned the room for a moment as he took in the other's faces, vaguely remembering them from earlier. "So...you all have powers, huh?" He asked as means to make awkward conversation. The room nodded. "And it doesn't like, freak you out or anything?"

"Well, we all knew we would manifest powers from birth." Yunho said gently in way of explaining. "It doesn't weird us out because we grew up with all of this. It's part of our culture."

"So what are your powers then?" Hongjoong asked, his curiosity winning out over how crazy ridiculous this all sounded to him. "You know, your ' _Gifts_ '." He said with air quotes.

"So Wooyoung told you about that, huh?" The pinkette smiled. The other nodded. "I wondered how much he had said."

Yunho looked as if he were about to say more but suddenly Wooyoung appeared in the center of the room. The same ashen particles Hongjoong had seen once before falling away as he manifested with a nearly imperceptible sound. In his hands he held a small wooden box.

"I think I found it." The new arrival said, getting straight to his point instead of greeting everyone else. He gestured to the box in his hands. "It took some digging but here it is."

Wooyoung, taking a step forward, presented the box out to Hongjoong and, upon closer inspection, the blunette he could see ornate gold swirling designs inlaid on the top. The student could tell the wood was aged but it was well preserved with little signs of cracking. The blunette cautiously reached out and took the object in his own hands.

"What is it?" Hongjoong asked skeptically as he continued to examine the box. He didn't have the slightest clue as to what might be inside. Knowing that magic existed now, there could be a dragon for all he knew.

"Open it," Wooyoung gestured impatiently. Hongjoong did as he was told and lifted the lid delicately, careful of the wood. Inside the box was a cushion of crushed puple velvet. In the center of the box was a beautiful and demure silver bracelet that was free of any aging or tarnish. The only thing decorating it was a small six pointed star that sparkled just slightly at the minimal light coming from the fire.

"Jewelry?" The blunette raised an eyebrow as he picked up the bracelet and held it between his hands delicately. "I didn't think we were at that level." He joked.

Wooyoung just rolled his eyes. "It's charmed. It will help keep some of the attention off of you until we figure out exactly why you are here. It should make classes a little easier for the time being."

Nodding in understanding, Hongjoong was suddenly thankful. He hadn't given much thought to how classes would go and it was bad enough being the new kid, let alone one that was completely ignorant of whatever world he had stepped into. He quickly slid the bracelet onto his wrist, happy that it fit.

"What if they ask me to do something?" Hongjoong asked as he looked up from the jewelry dangling from his wrist. "It isn't like I can suddenly teleport or shoot lasers from my eyes."

"You should be alright," Jongho said with a helpful smile. "I doubt they would try and make you do much since you missed the first part of the semester which is always practical theory. Besides, you haven't even been level tested yet."

"Levels?" The blunette lifted an eyebrow. 

"The school is broken up into three tiers." Mingi explained, holding up three fingers. "The first level is basically made up of the newly manifested and younger students. The second tier has more experienced students and that is where the bulk of the student body lies. The third tier is not only based on experience, but power level. The stronger your Gift is, the higher you rank."

"Isn't that a little unfair?" The blunette questioned. "What if you weren't born with a super cool Gift but you had a lot of experience and skill?"

"That's just how it is." Mingi shrugged as a way of explaining. "There have been exceptions but very rarely. There is only so much you can learn and do if your Gift isn't suited for that kind of level."

Hongjoong frowned, not sure if he particularly liked that answer but shrugged it off as none of his business. It wasn't like that was anything he had to worry about for himself anyway. "Then what are all of you then?" The blunette asked instead, curiously. He was finding this sort of ranking system rather interesting.

"Most of us here are in the second tier but may have the potential to move up." Wooyoung said. "Only Yunho is in the third."

The blunette shifted his gaze over to the tall boy with wide eyes, impressed. The pinkette must be rather powerful if he was in the highest level. Yunho seemed to grow shy and a light blush dusted his cheeks as he rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. 

"I don't know why you are telling him all of this," Yeosang grumbled from his seat. "It isn't like he's staying. As soon as they find out he's Mortal, they'll wipe his memories and send him packing at best."

"Yeosang!" Yunho admonished. Hongjoong sank a little lower in his chair under the piercing gaze, suddenly a little uneasy. 

"How can I tell who is in what level?" The blunette asked, diverting the conversation back and trying to focus. If there was any time to learn about his new environment before he made an utter fool of himself on the first day, it was now.

"Look at a student's jacket," Wooyoung said. He pointed a finger to a point on his chest. "You can tell by what patch they have. Marigolds are for first tier, Chrysanthemums are second tier, and Plum Blossoms are third tier."

"But there is a rumor there is a fourth tier." Mingi said mischievously as he leaned forward a little in his chair. "A small group of students hand selected by the Headmaster and earmarked as possibly being the next Supreme."

"Supreme?" Hongjoong said, remembering he had heard that term once before. "You said something about that last night. What is that? Is that fire guy one?"

"You mean San?" Wooyoung clarified. "No one knows for sure, but there is rumors he might be. You have to pass a series of tests first, though. Some of them could even potentially kill you which is why you have to be careful before you attempt them. There is only ever one Supreme at a time, the most powerful of all."

"So who is the Supreme right now?" Color the blunette intrigued.

"No one knows," Hongjoong moved his head back to look at Jongho. "We haven't had one manifest in over fifty years and we've lost too many brothers and sisters who grew careless and recklessly tried the tests out on their own. Right now, the Headmaster is heading the Witches Council but we have no idea who might be the next."

Hongjoong sat silent for a moment, playing with the small charm on his newly acquired accessory as he tried to take it all in. There was so much to learn about this world and it all felt so different. For a moment, he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't in some odd dream. He wasn't entirely sure he could pull this off.

Sensing the other's unease and need to process everything, Wooyoung nodded at the others. "It's getting late. We can help keep an eye on you but we won't always be around. Just remember to try and keep a low profile because no one can find out you might be Mortal. It could be dangerous for you."

Mutely, Hongjoong nodded but didn't answer verbally as he stood slowly from his chair. He said goodbye absently to the others in the room with a weak smile but it immediately dropped as he turned and made his way down a different hallway and towards his room. Once he reached the door, he paused as he noticed a small manila packet taped to his door. He reached up and plucked it off and opened the tab, relieved to find it was just his class information for the following day. He wasn't sure if he could handle any more surprises for the night. 

Rolling his neck to relieve some of the tension, he had the sudden desire to just crawl under his covers. Taking out his key, he unlocked the door and stepped inside only to freeze at the sight of someone sitting on one of the beds.

The boy from the library was his roommate. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick mention of the class levels:
> 
> Marigolds: October birth flower representing Ateez' debut date.
> 
> Chrysanthemums: November birth flower representing Atiny's birthday.
> 
> Plum blossoms: the flower that Ateez used in their MoonRiver 1st anniversary photoshoot.


	3. Day One

**November**

**1592**

_ I haven't dreamed since that night. _

_ It has been two weeks since I've seen the mysterious noble man at the river bed. I have gone back every day since in hopes that he would reappear but it seems that luck was not in my favor. Days were growing colder and shorter now and it will soon become impossible to traverse outside of the village. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever have the opportunity to ask him how he knew my name upon our first time meeting....  _

_ He had said it with such a warm familiarity that it was as if we had known each other for ages and not mere minutes. I guess, in a way, we had? It was hard to deny the resemblance to the silhouette of a man I had seen in my dreams prior. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he really  _ _ was _ _ the silhouetted figure. _

_ These days the manor has been restless. The lady in charge of my employ has spent an increasing amount of time alone in her chambers. I've heard from the chambermaid gossip that she had been under some extreme stress and had been quite melancholy since the lord had departed some days ago after receiving some news. It is hard to say what sort of call he could have received but from my understanding, the matter was gravely serious.  _

_ I recognize that I am very fortunate to be in their employ as they treat their servants rather fairly. I have heard many horror stories through the gossip chains of the wealthy mistreating those that serve them. I hope that the matter ends soon and the lord can return to the manner and help restore the lady's spirits. _

_ Well, the oil in my lamp is about to burn out, so I must sign off for now. I will return to the river once more, just to be sure, and if nothing happens I shall let the matter go for now as I must focus on my duties while the lord is away. I shall hope to return with news. _

* * *

Hongjoong sighed as he straightened his tie while looking in the mirror that was on the inside of his closet door. His jacked was fixed neatly but, unlike the others, his moon was not accompanied by any kind of flowers yet. He was told from a letter in his welcome packet that he would have to be tested sometime before winter break but for now that he should just attend the remedial classes to get used to the school and adjust. 

Once finished, he closed the door and glanced at the neatly made bed on the other side of the room. The sheets were so straight they looked as if they had never been slept in at all and could pass a military inspection.

The night before had been a little awkward to say the least. The boy from the library had hardly said a word to him and whenever he asked a question, it was mostly met with silence and a stare that could freeze ice. Giving up his endeavor quickly, the blunette just rolled his eyes and crawled into bed and quickly flicked off the light. When he had woken up this morning, the room was empty. 

Trying not to dwell on the thought, Hongjoong grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He snagged his schedule off of the desk and headed toward the door, locking it behind him. He hoped that the first day wouldn't be full of surprises and end up fairly normal but something told him he doubted that. 

Quickly scanning it, he recalled the others explaining that the first three letters on the schedule indicated the building and the numbers were the classroom. Seeing COM on the paper, Hongjoong took a moment to try and recall where the communication building was. After wandering around for a while, the new student found the sign indicating the building he was looking for. 

Standing outside, it was probably one of the more modern and new buildings on campus as it had a lot more glass for not only aesthetics but gave plenty of opportunity for natural light. What Hongjoong found interesting as he walked up towards the wooden door was that the same stained glass design he saw in the library of a moon, sun, and star was present in each of the mid-sized windows. 

Stepping through the threshold, Hongjoong took a moment to take in his surroundings and noticed that, while the outside was a bit more modern, the inside still had that older feel like the rest of the campus and was made of deep mahogany woods and soft earth tones that seemed relaxing. Each room that Hongjoong passed seemed large in size and even a few had double doors that were open and waiting for students.

It was when walking past one of the rooms that had open double doors that the blunette noticed the number on a gold plate off to the side matched the number on his schedule. Figuring this was the place he needed to be, he decided to stop his exploring for now, unless he ended up being late. Taking a cautious peek inside, Hongjoong was pleased to find that he was one of the first to arrive. 

The classroom, as expected, was rather spacious in size. Large windows covered the far wall and they let in plenty of sunlight as well as a good view of the back forest that was still dressed in the vibrant colors of fall. The front of the room had a large wooden desk in front of an old school chalkboard that looked newly cleaned and fresh for a new group of students. The desks were more like long wooden tables that were lined up two-by-two and went about eight rows back. Two forward facing chairs were placed at each table.

Walking towards one of the middle rows, Hongjoong plunked his bag down and settled in. In the back of his mind he hoped that he wasn't taking anyone else's seat. He wanted to avoid an awkward situation and any form of attention on himself as much as possible until he could finally get out of this weird school and back out to where things made sense again.

Hearing a clunk against the wood, Hongjoong looked down and caught sight of the bracelet Wooyoung had given him last night placed delicately on his wrist. Absently, the blunette reached for the small charm hanging there and fiddled with it between his fingers. It was truly a pretty, yet simple, piece of jewelry. Just the silver chain and a six pointed stair. Running a thumb over it and watching it shine, Hongjoong realized that the charm looked just like the stained glass star in the library and on the building doors.

Before the boy could ponder this any farther, a loud yell jolted him out of his musing. Looking up, he noticed several other people dressed in the same uniform walk into the room, ready for class. Just like in the forest, some of the students appeared dressed down and lowkey while others were using the full range of their expression with eccentric hair colors and loud jewelry donned upon their ears, arms, or hands. This made Hongjoong smile, wondering if he could actually get away with accessorizing his own uniform for self expression, something that was heavily frowned upon before.

Just as Hongjoong was about to duck his head back down when the group thinned out, a face caught his attention and caused him to look back up sharply. 

_ Jongho? Wasn't he in the second level class? _

The other student must have sensed Hongjoong's stare for at that moment, his eyes turned in his direction. As soon as he caught sight of the blunette, his cheeks flushed and he quickly ducked his head back down. Quickly, he turned on his heel and sped towards the other boy's direction.Still not making any eye contact, Jongho threw his bag onto the desk and collapsed into the seat next to him.

"You're not supposed to be here..." The boy mumbled, his cheeks a small pink in embarrassment. 

Hongjoong just raised an eyebrow at that. "The real question is what are  _ you _ doing here. Aren't you one of the second tier students or something?" He could be mistaken but he could have sworn that everyone he had met last night was not supposed to be in a remedial class. 

Jongho just groaned and placed his head on the desk in despair. "No one is supposed to know." He huffed. "This is the worst."

"You fail a class or something?" Hongjoong wasn't going to let this go and let his curiosity get the best of him. Secretly, he was a little pleased that he at least knew someone in the class that could help guide him or keep any unwanted attention off of him, even if Jongho was technically younger. 

The other boy grumbled something from where his face was pressed against the desk and the blunette had to lean down just to try and hear him. It just sounded like a muffled speaker. 

"Huh? What?" Another grumbled. "What was that?"

"I can't control my gift, okay?!" Jongho suddenly hollered, his head suddenly popping up from where it was laying and startling the other. The rest of the class noise seemed to go silent for a moment and, realizing his outburst, the boy slumped back into his chair and placed his head in his hands miserably. 

After a moment of shock that he wasn't expecting, Hongjoong cleared his throat. "I'm new here obviously," He started, "But I thought to get to the second tier you had to awaken your gift?"

"That's just it," Jongho lifted his head and just crossed his arms instead. "I have awakened it....I just don't really know....what it is?" As he was talking, the tone of his voice climbed higher and more unsure. "You only need to really have your gift awakened to get the second tier. That is where the practical application comes into play which can be difficult for some. If you haven't noticed, most of the people in this remedial this room are fairly young and thus need a bit more work."

At that, Hongjoong swiveled his head around the room and did notice that a large number of the other students did appear at least a few years younger than he did. There was an odd older student or two but for the most part, it seemed Jongho was right. Damn, now he felt a bit out of place being here. 

_ Wait, when did he want to stay and fit in? _

"Alright class!" A voice called, trying to gather the classes attention. In walked a man dressed in a white button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and tailored black pants with a belt and loafers. The man seemed rather young, maybe in his late twenties, with dyed blonde hair pulled into a very small ponytail at the base of his neck. He placed a rather large book on the desk with a thunk.

' _ This guy was his teacher? _ ' Hongjoong thought a bit wide eyed. He didn't think he could remember having a teacher quite like this. Most of the ones he had in the past were rather uptight and quite a bit older so this was a rather interesting change.

"Good morning all!" The man greeted in a friendly manner while his eyes scanned the class. Once his gaze had reached Hongjoong, however, they seemed to lock onto him. The blunette squirmed in his seat. "Well, it looks like we have a new student among us. Well, welcome, you can call me Eden."

Hongjoong nodded his head and tried not to let his surprise show on his face. He was still a little unsettled from the stare but shook it off to pull out his school supplies. As he did so, he saw his bracelet again. It figured that he wouldn't be completely invisible, especially towards his teacher, but he hoped that it didn't go much further than this. 

"Alright class, seeing as we have a new student joining us and a break coming up in a few weeks, now would be a great time for a review." Eden began as he turned to pick up a piece of chalk. "Who can name the basic fundamentals that most magic is built upon?"

Immediately, all the hands around Hongjoong went up quickly, slightly startling the other. Apparently everyone was rather enthusiastic about learning. Jongho seemed to see this and leaned over to whisper to him.

"The more questions you answer, the better your score. Once you reach a certain point, you earn the right to retest and finally leave the remedial classes."

_ Ah _ . Hongjoong nodded. That makes more sense. 

After scanning the room for a moment, Eden considered his options. Finally he called on a young girl towards the back with fiercely severe cat eyes and a high pigtails that seemed to support her heart shaped face. As soon as Eden called on her, she seemed to sit up a bit straighter in her chair.

"The magic, in some way or another, is linked to the three Celestial bodies." She said matter-of-factly. "There are some cross-overs and exceptions, but for simplicity's sake, they are separated as Moon, Sun, and Star energies and are mostly governed by those bodies."

"Very good, Yeji." Eden nodded as he turned towards the chalkboard. He drew a quick inverted triangle with a picture of a sun and moon on the upper two corners and a familiar looking six pointed star at the bottom. "Can anyone tell me what these three symbols represent?"

Again, hands shot up. This time the teacher pointed to a boy sitting up at the front with bleached hair. "The Moon and Sun are representative of the four main elements. The Moon governs Wind and Water and things associated with those elements. The Star has the most varied ranges of magic and represents Humans and Space and Time."

As the student was talking, Eden continued to draw lines from the rest of the three main drawings. Underneath the picture of the crescent moon there was water droplet and some swirling lines that looked like they could represent a breeze. Under the sun there was a small picture of a flame and a triangle that resembled a mountain. Under the star was an hourglass, a tight looking spiral, and a stick figure. Next to the stick figure, Eden wrote in order: Mind, Spirit, and Body. Beside the word mind, there was a picture of an eye, next to spirit was a circle cut through the middle. The top half of the circle was colored black. Finally, beside body was a simple four pointed diamond shape.

"Exactly right!" The teacher exclaimed while finishing up his small rendition. "Now, most of you are familiar with the concepts but whenever you see spells, seeing one of these symbols is a good indicator for what the spell might be for, what it might require, or be associated with. Now, not all runic spells are this basic and may combine a combination of these powers which makes the spell more difficult and can be very draining if not prepared properly. That is why we, as teachers, try our best to get you all ready and adequately educated, less you unknowingly drain yourself magically and put yourself in danger."

As Hongjoong listened to the explanation, his eyes grew a little wider. He quickly looked back towards his bracelet for what felt like the umpteenth time. So this star actually meant something significant? He glanced back at the board and looked at the words written under the now familiar symbol. So it represented one of those things? Hongjoong wondered which one? This was all a lot to take in and try and wrap his mind around. 

Feeling curious, Hongjoong tampered down his nerves and slowly raised his hand. Jongho, seeing the movement from beside him, turned wide eyes at his desk mate. He minutely shook his head but Eden noticed the blunette's hand first before the other could do anything about it. The instructor nodded for him to speak. 

"You said that multiple symbols could be used in a single spell? How does that work?" A pause as he recalled something Wooyoung had mentioned to him in the library. "And what about Gifts?" Hongjoong probably sounded a bit stupid asking questions that everyone in the class obviously probably knew but he was tired of waiting on answers and couldn't help himself from being intrigued with all of this new magic stuff.

If Eden seemed surprised by the question, he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he nodded and turned towards the board. "Good question actually. Now, like I mentioned before, these are the basics. There is no way that just eight things can cover the entirety of all magical practicing, especially when there are so many different kids that vary from East to West. While practices may change, the basic elements never do."

The teacher paused in his instruction and, on a clear part of the chalkboard, drew a circle. "Now, everything on this planet is connected. Some call it natural order and others mention it as spirit energy, but all of us have a connection to something. We step on a flower while walking, it leaves an imprint, an impression, and it changes the environment around us. What if that flower was home to some kind of bug or that flower was meant to be used in a medicinal cream? Now that it is destroyed, that small insect no longer has a place to return to or that cream cannot be made. Every action has a consequence and a price to pay. A give and take. It is on this principle that we practice magic. Spells, while a powerful tool, also come at a price."

Eden turned around briefly to check if the class was still paying attention. "With this in mind, you would think it might be difficult to separate these things from one another completely, and that is true. We use these symbols to draw out the most prevalent power that we need at that moment and sometimes these can even cross over to another body. Take a flower for example, what is needed for a plant to bloom?" He directed the question towards Hongjoong.

The boy looked confused for the odd thing to ask but just shrugged. "Sunlight, soil, and water?"

"Right," Eden made a connecting line between "water," "earth," and the "sun" before finally making a full circle around the last symbol. "Notice anything?"

Hongjoong's eyes scanned over the line for a moment, wondering what he was supposed to be looking at, when something crossed his mind. "Water is a moon element but earth is a sun element. They crossed over."

"This is what I mean when multiple elements or energies need to be used in a spell. In this case, if we were doing a spell that involved growing plants, since the sun itself is used, that is the governing body and will use the most energy but symbols for water and earth would also show up, though not as prevalent since sun rules over earth. However, many things in this life cannot exist without the other."

Eden finally moved away from the board and set down his piece of chalk while placing both hands on the desk in front of him. "Now as for your question about Gifts, they are usually related to one of these on the board. They vary in strength and ability from person to person but they are rather handy tools to have for a practitioner. A gift associated with the mind property could vary anything from being gifted at memorization, to reading people's thoughts, or even making things explode. It really is the sky's the limit when it comes to these things." 

"A gift can make spells associated with that particular property easier but it is not always the case. That is also to say that someone without a gift in that property can't also perform the spell as well or better than the other person. Gifts are different and special and it is even possible to maybe manifest more than one in your life but nothing will ever be as strong as the one you first manifest. The highest recorded number of Gifts in history is only three, and the last one didn't appear until the near end of this person's life, so don't be discouraged if you don't end up developing another. Cherish the one you have as it is truly a wonderful thing."

Hongjoong sat there trying to take in the information like a sponge. It was all new and confusing but he couldn't say that he wasn't a little bit intrigued. He had never thought of the world being all connected together but it made sense. This world he had found himself stumbling into was probably governed and lived by a whole different set of rules than he was used to. 

Maybe all of this new information could help him figure out the real reason he ended up being sent here. 

* * *

"Huh, you want to learn more about magic theory?" Wooyoung said from around a bit of rice, his spoon still hovering in the air before his mouth. After class the exuberant teen had caught up with the blunette and asked if he wanted to join him and the others for lunch. Despite the cooler weather, the group had huddled in the courtyard at an empty picnic table. 

Hongjoong, seeing the other's incredulous and confused look, paused in his own eating before nodding. "Yeah, it seemed a bit interesting. Figured if I was stuck here, might as well learn something new."

Yeosang, from his position leaning against the tree they were under, scoffed lightly. "And here you were so against being here in the first place. Now you're eager."

Ignoring the younger boy, Hongjoong just held up his arm, the charm on his bracelet dangling. "So this is a magical symbol? How does it work and what property is it supposed to be using?"

"The star is probably one of the most commonly used in spells." Yunho added into the conversation from Wooyoung's right. He reached out and tapped the charm still hanging up. "The star represents a lot of the things we interact with the most, particularly ourselves and others."

"But what property is this one?" Hongjoong asked, putting his arm down. "You said it was suppose to keep people's attention off of me? The teacher still noticed me though."

"Well it isn't an invisibility spell." Mingi chuckled, his head resting in a velvet gloved hand. "A teacher will probably call on you but they won't target you for anything."

"As for the property," Wooyong answered. "It is mind magic. Basically, it gives subtle suggestions for people to ignore you or overlook you."

"So mind magic involves manipulating people?" The blunette raised an eyebrow. He didn't know how he felt about that.

"Not necessarily," Jongho said from Hongjoong's side, closest to the tree. "Take Yeosang, his Gift lies in mind magic but it has nothing to do with manipulation. He uses his mind to move things."

"Jongho!" Yeosang scolded lightly. "Why are we telling him these things if he doesn't already know anything about magic. This information could be dangerous in the wrong hands."

The younger student just rolled his eyes at his friend's statement. "You act like he is about to sell us out in a Witch Trial."

The blonde didn't have anymore to say on that and instead just turned his head. Hongjoong frowned but honestly couldn't say he blamed the boy. It was easy to distrust a newcomer, especially one as ignorant as he was. He himself still didn't understand his own place here and was hoping that being around these guys could help him figure it all out.

"So what other kinds of Gifts are there?" Hongjoong turns back to the rest of the group to ask. "I know Yeosang's now and Wooyoung is teleportation. What category would that be?"

"What did you go over in class today," Mingi chuckled. "You sure are full of questions today."

"Why don't you take a guess?" Wooyooung grinned as he reached for his water bottle. Hongjoong frowned and thought for a moment but ultimately just shook his head. "Space and time. I bend the space around me so it looks like I appear out of nowhere but I can only teleport as far as I can see."

"So space and time and the mind." Hongjoong pondered. "Both of those are connected to the Star, right?"

Yunho nodded. "It is the most common connection but has the most variety in Gifts. However, the ones connected to the Sun and the Moon have great power since they aren't seen as often."

"Well, what about you two?" The blunette let his eyes dart between Yunho, Mingi, and Jongho. 

"I'm another connection to the Star but in a different way than Yeosang and Wooyoung." Mingi raised a finger. "I have a connection to the Spirit."

"The Spirit?" A tilt of the head.

Mingi nodded and then held up his glove covered hands. "Tell me, why do you think I wear these kinds of gloves? As a fashion statement?" Hongjoong shrugged. He himself liked to wear interesting clothes and style thing so he wasn't one to say anything. "I have the Gift of Second Sight."

"What does that mean?" 

"It means that I can reach in and touch your soul and see things about you that you might have never told anyone else about, kind of like a seer." The tall man smiled. "I have to be careful though because I don't have too much of a control on it and it activates using skin-to-skin contact."

Hongjoong widened his eyes, a bit surprised and wondering how it might feel if somebody just suddenly knew some of his deepest secrets. He shuddered at the thought. He also must realize how inconvenient it would be to constantly have to watch yourself and make sure you didn't accidentally touch someone and see something you didn't want to see or invade someone's privacy. It must be hard.

"I also have a Star related Gift." Jongho mumbled. The blunette suddenly remembered what they talked a bit about in class. "Mine has to do with the body. I can change the chemical properties of things, like Alchemy. I can make a door's material stronger or more brittle."

"I think I'm the only one that has one related to the Sun." Yunho smiled brightly, his grin matching his Gift's property. "Mine is associated with the Earth."

"So you can move mountains and make flowers grow out of nowhere?" Hongjoong asked the other, interested.

The pinkette laughed. "Uh, not exactly. I can help accelerate the healing process and enhance those kinds of properties in flowers and herbs."

The blunette was a bit surprised to hear this. It was definitely different from all the things he had heard earlier. In a way, it made sense. Yunho had a very lively, but nurturing, air about him. It definitely fit.

"Now you can see why he's in the third tier, right?" Mingi grinned, seeming oddly proud. The pinkette just blushed a little and lightly elbowed him in the side. 

"Wow, I had no idea that they could all be so different." Hongjoong whistled while picking lightly at his sandwich. He let his gaze wander across the courtyard and watched all the different kinds of students meander around. As he took a look, he tried to think what kind of Gifts that they might have. 

Suddenly, he caught sight of a boy with black hair and a silver streak. He had his hands in his pockets as he walked down the path towards one of the buildings. Hongjoong vaguely remembered seeing him on Halloween. 

"Hey, I've seen that guy before right?" The blunette asked. The rest of the table turned to see who their friend was talking about.

"Oh yeah," Jongho nodded. "That's San. You must have seen him at the bonfire."

"What is his Gift then?" Hongjoong asked. He had a bit of an idea but wanted confirmation for himself.

"I'm surprised you didn't already figure it out." Yunho stated, turning back around. "Like me, he has a connection to the Sun but he is on the other side. He has Pyrokinesis."

"Woah," Hongjoong whistled, impressed. "That is like, controlling fire right?" The table nodded.

"He's also in the same class as Yunho, tier three." Yeosang supplied, speaking up for the first time in a while. The blunette was pleasantly surprised. 

"So do you know most people's Gifts on campus?" He asked.

Wooyoung shrugged. "More or less but not always. Sometimes people surprise us."

Hongjoong took this and thought for a moment. "Then, what about my current roommate? What about him?" He was curious to find out anything about his current dorm mate. He had hardly seen him and was dying to learn at least a little about him. Maybe if he figured something out they could be friends?

"What room are you in again?" Mingi asked while popping a chip in his mouth. That was the first time the other had noticed he had taken off one of his gloves to eat but was careful not to make any contact with others.

"1024." Wooyoung supplied before Hongjoong could get a word in.

Mingi let out a low whistle. "Oh man, tough luck buddy."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" The blunette grumbled, miffed at another lack of answers.

"Because no one really knows about that guy." Wooyoung shrugged. "I told you how he switches roommates all the time. He is a bit of a loner and no one has really gotten close enough to find out anything."

"Well that doesn't seem very healthy." Hongjoong huffed. "Are you sure he doesn't talk to anyone? Surely he has to talk to someone, even a casual acquaintance."

Yunho frowned and shook his head. "Unfortunately, the others are right. He doesn't talk to anyone. I've hardly even seen him on campus myself."

"Well, what level is he in? Someone has to have class with him and see what he does there." Hongjoong continued to frown. He didn't like the sound of this and was feeling a little bad for how much time his roommate spent on his own.

"None of us happen to have any classes with him," Mingi shook his head. "If I didn't know any better it is almost like he is a ghost or something."

Suddenly, something hit Hongjoong. He was asking all of these questions but then he realized he didn't know something very important. He felt like smacking himself on the head.

"Geez, well this is great." The blunette rolled his eyes. "I don't know anything about the guy I live with. Not even his name." This seemed to cause the rest of the table to share an uneasy look for a moment. After a moment, Yunho spoke up.

"His name is Park Seonghwa." The pinkette said. "And he is the headmaster's son."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sorry for the wait on this chapter. I know it probably didn't make up for the wait but, as I said, Asphyxia is my priority and I had to get the boring explanations out of the way. Hopefully you have a teensy bit more understanding of the world we are in now and I apologize for the shorter chapter. I hope the explanations were clear enough and it made sense. If not, the more we go on in the story, the more these will be used so hopefully you can get used to them.
> 
> The magic and symbols used in this story is made up by me. I have drawn inspiration from many things so, at times, there may be similarities to other actual magical practices or stories to help me organize my thought process but I promise that none of these are stolen or supposed to represent any real magic or be offensive to actual practicing witches. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. If you have time, drop a comment and let me know how I did.


	4. Dreams

**_Late November_ **

**_1592_ **

_I saw him again._

_This morning, I had been sent out to town with one of the chambermaids. Not wanting to waste any more time than we had to in the cold, the two of us had separated to complete our individual tasks and then make the long trek back to the manner. Taking advantage of the solitude, I managed to slip further into the square and head towards one of my favorite shops to replenish my ink and scroll supplies. The shop was normally rather high-end and would never sell to a commoner such as myself but I was smart in my persuasions and had convinced the owner that I was purchasing for the young Lord and Lady. Seeing as I was always frugal with my meager earnings and was friendly with most of the other merchants in the market, I always managed to talk things down to lower prices and use the leftovers for my own needs, however shady that was. Soon I became a frequent customer and the man quickly stopped questioning my intentions and was always eager to see me._

_That was when I saw him. The crowded street parted like the sea for just the briefest of moments and I caught sight of his broad back that was nearly unmistakable. His dressings were as elegant and finely tailored as ever and he stuck out sorely compared to the rest of his surroundings. The others in the square. noticed how out of place he appeared as well as he was quickly garnering a crowd that acted as if they weren't staring from afar._

_He must have sensed I was standing there as in that moment, he had turned around and spotted me amongst the onlookers. He seemed to recognize me and smiled brighter than the sun itself and stepped forward. I felt the breath seize in my chest._

_"I was wondering if I would run into you again." He had said through his grin. His cat eyes sparkled with mischief as if he knew for certain that we would and I could feel heat grow on my cheeks that was not caused by the sun. "How is your ankle?"_

_"How did you know my name?" I couldn't help the sentence from bursting forth. The thought had been on my mind since the second he had left me last. It was unwise to question a nobleman but in regards to myself, I felt it was justified._

_The noble blinked owlishly at me, a bit surprised by the outburst but regained his smile. "My apologies for being presumptuous. I was a visitor at your manor some months ago and saw you for the first time in the courtyard as a maid called your name. I figured you remembered who I was."_

_I felt my ears burn and almost smacked myself on the head for entertaining strange ideas. He wasn't some strange man who just happened to know his name, he had been a visitor. Though I was sure I should feel a bit flattered that he remembered a lowly servant's name. But I also wonder why I never caught such a striking visage at the manor. I felt mildly embarrassed at the situation._

_The nobleman, somehow privy to my emotions, decided to change the topic. He pointed to the shop beside us and asked if I was going in to buy something. Noticing the shop that I always frequented, I quickly shook my head. If he were a noble that knew the Lord and Lady at the manner, it was not a good idea for him to see me purchasing ink and scrolls and he might just mention my hobby to the masters of the house._

_I love writing but my mild education has always been a bit of a secret and, if it got out, would put me at a great disadvantage. In the beginning of my servitude, I was taught just enough to entertain any guests for a few moments but nothing more. Anything else I picked up was from mutterings I had heard from around the Manor and the streets. Eventually I got my hands on a spare scroll that had been ripped and a frayed brush. Writing seemed to come easily after that. I know very few characters but I wish to learn more. Perhaps what I write is only legible to me but it is my solace, my release, and I refuse to give it up because I was careless and let something slip._

_The man before me didn't seem to accept my denial and instead looked at me with a rather strange eye. He told me to wait a moment as he went in to pick up a few things. Confused, I watched as he entered the store. I don't know what had compelled me to listen to a complete stranger, but I had, and a few moments later he walked out with whole armfuls of the most ornate scrolls I had ever seen. They were woven with the most unique patterns on the backs and a golden tassel seemingly woven of the finest threads hung from the wooden rod as decoration. In his left was a fresh ink pot in a metal container that was painstakingly hand crafted. My eyes widened as I knew just how expensive those things were. I eyed them nearly every time I set foot in the shop._

_As if the things he held were of no value to him, he thrust them into my arms and, in my shock, I struggled to keep the items from falling to the ground. I could feel my chin hit my chest._

_"What are you doing?" I remember I had squeaked out to him. He just smiled that same captivating, and infuriatingly handsome, smile he had shown me earlier and gave a wink._

_"Your fingers have ink stains on them," He observed coolly. "If you're going to lie, you should really try harder."_

_"I can't possibly accept any of this." I exhaled, fingers trembling around the merchandise. "Why are you doing this."_

_"Figured I could just help you get what you came for." He said as if it were the most simple thing in the world. "A person needs quality equipment when writing."_

_He had begun to walk away after that. I felt myself frozen, my inability to speak suddenly leaving me. Finally, before he had disappeared back into the busy market place, I had managed to summon my voice._

_"Wait!" I called. He turned. "I don't even know your name."_

_The man just turned his head over his shoulder and winked. He pointed to the scroll still in my hands. Catching the meaning, I scrambled to open the scroll in my hand and was met with a hastily scrawled picture reminiscent of the river we had first met in the forest and a moon in a position that indicated a certain time of night. At the bottom, there was a word hastily scribbled and made of the few normal characters I actually recognized._

**_Seonghwa_ **

* * *

Hongjoong inhaled as the vestiges of wakefulness crept upon him. The vague images of candlelight and the smell of ink leaving him as he groggily blinked. He took a moment to register that he was back in his bed and the early morning sunlight broke through the cracks of the curtains to sprawl across his face. Shifting and stretching out his muscles, he took a glance at the alarm clock sitting on the desk beside him.

_6:00 a.m._

Knowing that sleep wouldn't return to him, Hongjoong laid there for a few moments as he took in the warm of his blanket as it reflected his own body heat back to him. He had dreamed again. It wasn't very often that Hongjoong had dreams. Or at least ones that followed him into wakefulness. There were never any concrete details in these images but they always seemed to follow the same wavelength of scrolls upon scrolls of scrawling words that the boy was never able to make out. It was a rather odd type of dream to have, considering nothing really happened. However, his dreams always seemed to come or get a little more vivid as his birthday draws closer and with each year that passes.

_It is almost that time again._

Feeling the still cool metal move around his wrist, Hongjoong moved his arm up to look at the dangling charm as it caught the light. He had been here a total of five days now and no matter how long he wore the bracelet, it was still cool to the touch, as if it were a reminder that it was still there and doing its job. Inside, the blunette was happy that the charm was doing it's work. True to its promise, the teachers hardly paid him much attention and the course work was still simple bookwork. Hongjoong was dreading the day that he actually had to do anything involving practical application. He just knew, charm or no charm, that he was going to draw a lot of attention then.

Finally deciding he had wasted enough time lounging and that he should shower to get ready for the day, Hongjoong sat up and placed his feet on the floor with a languid stretch, a small groan leaving his lips as his bones settled and his tense muscles loosen. As he lowered his arms, he caught sight of a lump curled in the opposite bed facing towards the wall and away from the blunette. The smallest sliver of silver hair was visible above the blankets.

_Seonghwa._

It had been a few days now since Hongjoong had arrived at this strange school and he still didn't know much about his mysterious roommate. In fact, they hardly saw anything of one another. He still didn't know why all his previous roommates had requested to switch rooms before but so far there had been no problems. Seonghwa would always return late after Hongjoong was already asleep and most of the time be gone before he woke. The blunette was dying to find out what kind of person this man really was and Hongjoong's inherent curiosity of the boy only increased once he found out that he was the headmaster's son.

Personally, he didn't see any similarities between the man curled up on the bed and the kind headmaster but he could just take after the mother. They both did have silver hair after all. Was it natural? Dyed? They also did have different last names. Was he adopted? Did his parents get a divorce? Hongjoong had so many questions but he didn't dare speak them outloud for risk of sounding nosy and insensitive. Silently, he made a vow to make an effort to at least make small talk with Seonghwa tonight.

Moving his gaze from the other man, the blunette stood and grabbed his toiletries from the closet. As quietly as he could to not disturb his sleeping roommate, he tiptoed out of the room and down the hall towards the communal washrooms. As he got closer, a sudden chill so strong it stopped him in his tracks and ran down his spine. Stopping, Hongjoong took a moment to look up and down the hall, thinking that maybe Wooyoung was up and using his teleportation powers to mess with him as he had in the past. Spotting no one, the blunette shrugged. The building was older and it was getting colder outside. Maybe he had just walked past a place with poor insulation. Paying the sensation no mind, he carried down the hall, eager to step under the spray of hot water.

* * *

Hongjoong exhaled tightly as he slid into his desk just as the bell overhead began to ring, signalling the beginning of class. Despite getting such a headstart on his morning routine, he took a little too long getting ready and the lines in the canteen for breakfast ended up getting too long. Realizing he didn't have time to wait, he grabbed a bit of fruit from one of the shorter ques and headed out. He hadn't managed to find any of the others that morning but figured he could catch up with them at lunch time.

"Cutting it a little close there, aren't you?" Jongho whispered from beside him as Hongjoong reached to get his notebook out of his bag.

"I made it didn't I?" Hongjoong shot back with a smirk just as Eden walked through the doors. At the sight of the instructor, any talking in the class immediately hushed and he stepped towards the podium to take role and answering when their name was called.

"Yeji?" Eden called from his sheet. When there was no answer, Eden looked up and glanced around the classroom. Hongjoong looked behind him and noticed that the seat where the cat-eyed girl sat was indeed empty. He vaguely remembered that she was a second tier level student from the Chrysanthemums present on her school uniform.

Roll call continued and it turned out that there were one of two other students that were absent but considering the weather outside, it wasn't unheard of to think that the beginning of flu season was upon them. Class continued as normal and Hongjoong furiously scribbled everything he could inside of his notes, much to Jongho's amusement and slight ire at the scratching sounds. The blunette, as skeptical as he had been about everything before, was slowly finding himself fascinated by everything this world had to offer. It was his wildest fantasy novel come to life and it was all right in front of him. Some things, however, he could still believe were real life.

"Now, at the beginning of the week we talked a little bit about magical properties but we have not talked all that in depth about Gifts and their implications." Eden began from the front of the class. "Gifts, I'm sad to say, are not individual in the way you might think. The simpler the Gift, the more common it may be to meet someone with the same inclination. If you have a knack for making potions, chances are there are others out there similar to you." The young teacher said with a bit of sympathy in his voice.

"However, if your Gift is more powerful, chances are it is more unique." Eden segued. "Take the elements for example, if your Gift is directly related to one of the magical properties, your powers may be of considerable strength and are a lot more rare to find. But, like all magic, there is a give and take. This means that these Gifts are quite a bit more difficult to control and, if mishandled, can often become dangerous to the user or those around them. There have even been instances and reports of a shortened lifespan or health issues in the future if not handled correctly."

"Since Gifts are considered different separate from the Magical Properties, it is not uncommon to see Gifts influenced by more than one of the these." Eden left his post at the podium and began to pace around the room. "Remember, the Properties are to be used more as a guide to separate magic into categories for simplicity's sake but do not segregate them into boxes where they cannot interact with one another. A Gift can come from both the Star and Sun categories but whichever is considered the stronger influence of the two is considered the governing body."

"Now, I know that it is rather late in the year for this with the term about to end, but tomorrow I want to do some practical lessons." Eden suddenly said. Hongjoong's furious note-taking instantly came to a halt with a scratch. Practical _what?_ He looked over at Jongho whose eyes were just as wide as his, confirming his fears.

"I want to see if you have been keeping up with individual practices and have an early test of your skills." Eden explained as he walked up the aisle, stopping right beside the blunette's chair. Excited murmuring broke out in the class. "Hopefully some of you will take advantage of this opportunity and manage to score high enough to test out of the remedial class a bit earlier than usual." The teacher cast a look and Hongjoong who still sat frozen at his desk. "It will also allow our new student here to finally get his level test for the next semester."

A sharp inhale that the blunette honestly couldn't tell if it came from his table-mate or he himself. A practical test meant a show of skills. He wasn't magical. He didn't have a Gift. He had nothing to show and everyone would know it. Everyone would know he was a mortal amongst the mages.

Hongjoong was royally fucked.

* * *

"Yikes, what's got your panties in a twist?" Mingi commented upon seeing Hongjoong and Jongho approach their normal outdoor table underneath the tree. He and Yeosang were the only ones there at the moment. "You both look like you swallowed lemons or something."

Hongjoong didn't immediately comment as he slumped onto the bench with a sigh, his bag clanging noisily. Jongho, taking pity on the other, decided to speak up.

"Eden is having a practical exam next week." The red head said, taking his place next to Yeosang.

Mingi winced. "Geez, that's got to be rough. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Hongjoong sighed. "Is there not some kind of spell that can give me magical abilities for a little bit."

The taller man just shook his head sympathetically. If there was a spell like that, it would be disastrous. Anyone and everyone could use it and not for the right reasons.

"Thought so." The blunette muttered bitterly as his eyes raked over the busy courtyard. He noticed Wooyoung talking to the guy with the pie-chart hair from Halloween night. "What's going on there?"

The others at the table all turned to look to spot what Hongjoong was talking about. The two seemed to be speaking casually with Wooyoung pointing back towards their table but the other just frowned and shook his head sadly before gesturing to the building behind him. Finally, the pie-chart guy turned to head inside the building he had pointed to while their friend's shoulders slumped slightly before he headed towards the lunch table.

"San must have turned down Wooyoung's lunch invite again." Yeosang commented casually as he stabbed at his salad as if the scene was of no importance. "They used to be really good friends until San's Gift manifested. Now he always says he is way too busy with extra lessons to hang out."

"But why?" Hongjoong said a little confused. "Just because he has extra lessons doesn't mean they can't still be friends. He can't be busy twenty-four-seven."

Yeosang just shrugged as Wooyoung got close enough. "Not my place to say."

"Struck out again, buddy?" Mingi asked casually as their teleporting friend slumped onto the bench in a similar manner that Hongjoong had earlier. The taller of the two patted Wooyoung's back sympathetically.

"I just don't know why he has to keep lying and saying he's too busy with the headmaster." Wooyoung rolled his eyes in an annoyed fashion. "I wish he would just get over it and stop avoiding me. It's like he doesn't even _want_ to be friends anymore."

"If you don't mind me asking," Hongjoong cut in and ignoring the looks the others at the table shot him. "I don't know much about this guy but what happened between you two if you used to be close? Did you get into a fight or something?"

"Wow, you don't hold back do you?" Wooyoung chuckled but with no real annoyance or anger. If anything, the words were said with mild amusement. "We used to be really close friends in the beginning, practically inseparable. We would play and go to classes together all the time. We had a lot of fun." He paused for a moment as if reminiscing on a different time. After a moment, he shook himself out of it and cleared his throat.

"But that was before when we were just learning the basics. You remember that I said I manifested my Gift two years ago?" Hongjoong nodded. "Well, San managed to manifest his about a year before me." The blunette raised an eyebrow at this while the rest of the people at the table seemed disinterested, having already heard this story before.

"We had snuck out into the forest to play one night after curfew. We were playing pirates and had a sword fight with some of the loose branches. Before we knew it, we were too far into the forest and didn't know how to find our way back." Wooyoung ran a hand through his hair as he recalled the events, something far off in his gaze. "Eventually we must have stumbled into a bear's territory and pissed it off. We were so scared that we just took off running. Kind of ridiculous thinking that two kids could outrun a wild animal but it was all we could do. It was so dark that San ended up tripping on a tree root. I stopped to turn and help him but the bear was already upon us. Right when I thought we were done for, San just... _exploded_. It's the only thing I can think to describe it. Wooyoung said, his voice carrying a modicum of awe in it.

"The flash managed to spook the bear away but then we felt the heat on our skin and everything was suddenly orange and red. San he forest was on fire." Wooyoung frowned before rubbing at his temple. "I don't remember much of what happened after that. I hadn't developed my teleportation yet so we were as good as trapped. I'm not even sure how we were rescued but since that night, San started to avoid me. He's been _terrified_ that he is going to lose control like that again. It's why he started working with the headmaster so much. Fire is not a forgiving element and he knows it."

Wooyoung's shoulders slumped as if he had been defeated. "I just wish he would trust me and himself a little more. I want my friend back." He muttered miserably. Hongjoong placed a hand on the other and patted it in an awkward form of comfort as the younger finished his tale, mildly regretting asking. The rest of the table followed suit with their own words of support.

The group was about to move on when they suddenly noticed Yunho walk up in a rather distracted manner. His mouth, normally sporting a smile, was pressed in a thin line. His eyebrows were pinched in worry.

"There you are," Mingi was the first to greet the new arrival as he noted the look on the other's face. "Lunch is almost over, what happened?"

"Sorry," Yunho said solemnly as he took a seat next to the other tall boy. "I got held up in the infirmary."

"The infirmary?" Jongho raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing in there? Were you hurt?"

Yunho just shook his head, face still tight. "You know how sometimes I get called in to help out sometimes when the nurse gets overwhelmed."

Right, Hongjoong had forgotten that Yunho's gift involved some kind of healing. He still wasn't exactly sure how it worked but he figured now was not the time. He would ask more about that later.

"So why do you look so concerned?" The blunette asked. "No one was really hurt right? Just some paper-cuts and bruises?"

"Normally, yeah." The pinkette shrugged. "But this time was a little weird. We had a case of magical exhaustion."

"Exhaustion?" Yeosang put his chin in his hand. "That's weird. Normally the school is really careful monitoring spells so that doesn't happen. Not to mention practical lessons aren't really happening right now."

Yunho bit his lip, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, that is what is so weird."

"Who was it?" Mingi questioned. "Maybe it was a kid coming into their Gift and they just overextended themselves because they don't know how to control it."

"That's what I thought at first but it wasn't." The pinkette shook his head. "You know that second tier student, Yeji? It was her."

Hongjoong and Jongho shared a look with one another. So that was why she wasn't in class that morning. But if magical exhaustion was so infrequent, the blunette was curious about what had happened. From the blunette's limited understanding of how this school worked so far, second tier students have already awakened their gifts and have moderate control over it. Sure, she was in a remedial class for review but surely students wouldn't try and activate a Gift without supervision. 

"Well, at least she's ok right?" Jongho questioned just to be safe, concern coloring his tone. They weren't really friends but magical exhaustion was always a serious deal.

"Yeah, she's fine. Just resting right now." Yunho assured the rest of the table. Just then the bell rang for the afternoon classes to begin and everyone started to pack up their lunches.

Hongjoong stayed slung his back back onto his shoulder and waved goodbye to the others. He had a strange feeling in his stomach but decided to keep it to himself for the moment. He really didn't know enough about magic and the situation to really way in. Instead, he made his way towards his History class while hoping that Yeji would be alright and how in the world he was going to fake it through his practical tests.

* * *

Hongjoong took a deep breath and rolled his neck as he stood outside of his door, hand hovering just above the handle. He didn't know why he was so nervous about this. It was his room too. He just wanted to have a conversation with the person he was sharing a space with. Is that so odd?

Bracing himself, he finally grabbed the handle and turned it while barreling inside before he could lose the nerve. "Hey, roomie, I'm back!"

Silence.

The room was empty with the lights still on. The room looked exactly how he had left it that morning except that the window next Hongjoong's bed was open letting in the light breeze from outside. The wind lightly fluttered the blue curtains and made them dance.

"What are you doing?" Hongjoong jumped at the sudden voice from behind him. Whipping around, he spotted Seonghwa dressed in a loose black t-shirt and grey joggers as he lightly ran one end of the towel around his neck across his still dripping hair. The blunette's eyes unintentionally locked onto a stray drop of water that fell from the end of his hair and trailed down his neck, down and down and-

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going into the room?" Hongjoong blinked as his eyes snapped upward and towards Seonghwa who raised an eyebrow at the other's strange behavior.

"Oh!" Hongjoong exclaimed, realizing he was blocking the doorway for the other to get in. Chuckling awkwardly the brunette stepped aside. Seonghwa rolled his eyes before brushing past the other to sit down in his bed as he continued drying his hair.

Feeling out of place, Hongjoong shuffled his feet lightly, not sure if he should stay or go. Taking a deep breath, the other boy strengthened his resolve and reached for the door and closed it behind him. Once that was finished, the bluenette walked over and sat down on his bed across from his roommate.

"So, uh, Seonghwa, right?" _God, this was awkward_. The silver headed youth looked up from his ministrations but didn't comment. "I guess we will be rooming together for awhile. I mean, it's already been a few days but we should get to know each other right?"

Seonghwa removed the towel from his head and held it loosely in his hand as he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "What do you want?"

"What?" Hongjoong blinked, taken aback by the sudden deadpan question. "What do you mean what do I want?"

Seonghwa sighed and stood from his bed, the frame giving a creak at the weight shift, and walked towards the closet. Opening it, he tossed his towel in a hamper that Hongjoong could just make out when looking past the other. The boy closed the door with a soft click and turned around, leaning against the doors.

"You found out that I'm the headmaster's son and now you want something, right?" Seonghwa shrugged one shoulder. "So, what is it?"

Hongjoong felt like he had been struck across the face at the accusation and an anger started to bubble in his chest like a small flame. Was this what the other thought? That he would just use him for personal gain? Had others done that before? Used him and flee or left because the other boy had accused them of the same thing. 

"Is that what you think?" The blunette huffed, offense coloring his tone. "That I'm just going to use you to get what I want?"

Seonghwa seemed unfazed by Hongjoong's ire. "Of course," The silverette spoke. "You all come in here and make your demands while trying to find dirt on me to report back to my dad so you can get your way but it's not going to happen."

Hongjoong hopped up from his bed, his irritation too high to cover. He took a step forward and drew himself up to his full height. The other man was still taller but it didn't matter.

"Listen here," The blunette huffed. "I don't care who your dad is or isn't. He could be the damn president of Korea for all I care. I just wanted to make my living situation as comfortable as possible for the both of us but you go ahead and make accusations without even knowing a single thing about me!"

Seonghwa's eyes grew wider the longer Hongjoong talked as he stared down at the fiery man. This was new territory for him, someone standing up to argue. He wasn't really sure what to do.

"Maybe, before assume someone wants something from them, you should try and find out what kind of person they are." Hongjoong finished with a huff before spinning on his heel. Angrily, he opened a drawer and pulled out a set of pajamas and threw open the door angrily as he walked out of the room to do his nightly routine. All the while leaving Seonghwa to stand in the middle of the room staring at his retreating back.

* * *

_It was foggy. The tendrils of mist curled in and out from the maze of trees in the deep forest and the moon was full and bright as it hung far up in the sky, casting an ethereal glow on to everything below. Hongjoong felt the leaves crunch under his bare feet as he took a tentative step forward._

_"Hello?" He called out into the open air as he turned in a circle. Where was he? How did he get here? And how did he get out? In the back of his mind, the blunette realized that he was still in his pajamas for the evening and that the night's chill should be seeping into his bones but he felt none of it. Not even the dewiness of the fog impacted him._

_A breeze ran through the forest and ruffled the leaves. Hongjoong felt his hair flutter softly and the smell of fresh water hit his senses. A sound of a droplet. So stark and audible it was as if it had happened right beside Hongjoong's ear. Startled, the blunette turned sharply._

_"Hello?" He called again but, like last time, didn't expect an answer. "Is there anyone out there?"_

_Suddenly there was a shift in the fog and in the distance, Hongjoong could spot a silhouette standing, their figure shrouded in darkness. Not knowing what had possessed him, Hongjoong felt a pull towards the person standing in the middle of the forest. He took a step forward. And then another. And another. Soon, the blunette found himself running and running through the forest but no matter how many steps he took, the figure didn't get any closer. Instead, it almost seemed like it was getting farther away. Another sound of a droplet._

_"Wait!" Hongjoong called out, his hand extending into the air as if it would somehow help in catching up to the person ahead of him. "Don't go!" He didn't know why he was doing this. His lungs and legs were burning from exertion but some force inside his chest continued to pursue on and on. The figure, possibly hearing his voice, began to turn slowly, as if in stop motion. The motion was just enough to move the silhouette's face just slightly into the light of the moon but was still mostly covered. It smirked before vanishing in the mist._

"Wa't..." A still asleep and blanket swaddled Hongjoong whined in his bed as he shifted. His roommate still sound asleep. "D'n go..."

In the bedside drawer, a light began to shine softly through the cracks like a peaceful shimmer just bright enough to call out for attention but not enough that it was blinding. Inside the drawer lay a thick tomb that was all but forgotten. The very same book Hongjoong had accidentally taken from the library.

On the dresser, an alarm clock marked another minute and the hour struck twelve. It was November 5th, two days from Hongjoong's birthday. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I am greatly dissatisfied with this chapter and wanted to make it longer but felt that there wasn't anything I could really add that would fit the format even though this chapter was pretty disjointed and rushed to me. I feel like it is pretty boring but finally, we are a bit out of the straight introduction stage and we can get into the real meat of the story!! And yay a Seonghwa interaction albeit it probably didn't go how you all wanted. 
> 
> **Any questions about the magic of the world thus far? What are you curious about?
> 
> I will do my best to answer in the comments or future chapters because in my head I know what is going on and want to make sure that is coming across.

**Author's Note:**

> The latin is translated so I apologize for mistakes. If you want to check out my other work, Asphyxia, here is the link! (Sorry, idk how to hyperlink it)
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/22114948/chapters/52782187


End file.
